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Sep 21, 2009 11:26 pm US/Central
Good Question: What Makes A Good Question, Good?
(WCCO)
After 10,000 e-mails, 500 stories and 4 years of Good Questions, we thought it was about time we explained what makes a question "good."
Viewers e-mail us all the time asking if the questions really come from the viewers. The process starts there, although there are times we use questions that we want to answer.
On average, we get 50 to 75 e-mails a day. I read every single question. People think there's a staff, but it's photographer Joe Berglove and me.
Every morning at 9:30, a bunch of us meet to decide which question to answer. From there, it's a daily race to get an expert to answer our question and shoot our story.
"It was really a unique opportunity in this business that only comes around once in a lifetime," said Berglove, who along with former WCCO reporter Ben Tracy, came up with the concept that became "Good Question."
"When we get an idea for a good question, it's like a light going off. It's like, 'That's a good question,'" said Berglove.
Our stories are different in that we let them breathe, we leave in the jokes, we include the natural moments, and then we mix-in experts who know their stuff.
A Good Question is "something that parents, children would say, 'Wow,' either 'I've thought about that a lot' or 'Wow, I've never thought to ask that,'" said University of St. Thomas social psychologist John Tauer.
Tauer and communications studies professor and marriage researcher Carol Bruess have been in more than 40 Good Question segments, making them our most-quoted "experts."
"A question I didn't even think I wanted to know the answer to, to me makes a really good question. 'Oh, interesting, I didn't even know to look that up,'" said Bruess.
Both point to the allure of taking interesting questions and then discovering that there's real scientific research examining those issues.
Viewers have responded.
"It's nice to know that a major network station cares about what the people have to say or ask," said Nick Larsen.
"Because the people decide what's relevant. We get to ask and you report, it's awesome," said Lulu Grimm.
Certain topics are very popular questions to answer. Nutritional questions come up often, as do questions about why the human body does what it does. We've covered science, race, religion, world affairs and what happens after you flush the toilet.
"I think the thing you guys do a great job of is really attacking that 'why' question. Not just what are people doing, but why. What's the underlying motive behind human behavior?" said Tauer.
"Good questions lead to more good questions," added Bruess.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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